


she'll have them all

by GayKaiba



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Commissioned Work, F/M, M/M, Multi, polyship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26476045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayKaiba/pseuds/GayKaiba
Summary: This was a commissioned piece for MeetraK featuring her OC Kathleen Murata, Jounouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, and Kaiba Seto as the mains.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Kaiba Seto/Joey Wheeler | Jounouchi Katsuya/Tristan Taylor | Honda Hiroto
Kudos: 1





	1. Entrance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MeetraK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeetraK/gifts).



The air smelled of absurdly expensive and foul cologne, smoke from cigars, and privilege. Murata Kathleen was here only on business- although that business had nothing to do with her day job, or even her on the side gang activities. She was here as an escort today- a fake date for a man who felt a need to impress. She was easily an attractive woman, although her form was an acquired taste. She was muscular, and this night was instructed to dress to accentuate that fact- which wasn’t much of a task for her, showing any bit of skin would have been more than enough.

Her client chatted aimlessly with a small group of unimportant looking men- at least for the status of this event, all dressed in expensive suits that none of them could pull off. They were the bottom of the barrel, although that much did not surprise her considering the circumstance of her employment that evening. His meaty hand rested on her lower back, which was completely exposed to the open air, she could feel sweat from his palm rubbing into her skin. It sent shivers down her spine from pure disgust. She did not find this man, or any of his peers attractive.

“What’s your little girl’s name now?” They were talking about her, forgetting how offensive their language was. 

“Natasha.” It wasn’t, but that was what he wanted, so for the night she’d answer to it. This man was obsessed with Europeans, specifically white women, and while she had been born and raised in this country she was mixed enough to strike his fancy. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She stuck her hand out, fakes smile seeming genuine on her lips. She had become a pro at pretending to be someone she wasn’t. That man took her hand at once, didn’t shake, but kissed the back of her wrist. 

This was just a paycheck to her, and an opportunity to make contacts within her desired field of work. What she wanted most was an “in” into the same field as Kaiba Corporation and Schroeder Corp- KC being her preferred target. 

Thinking of the devil could often summon him. 

“Look who’s walking in, all alone.” One of the older gentlemen jeered, nodding his head in the direction of the doors, toward the man in question. Kaiba Seto, lead and CEO of KC, as expected he’d show up to an event like this. It directly corresponded to Industrial Illusions, he’d had no choice but to make an appearance. The fact that he had shown up alone was to be expected, with his VP in Germany at this time. 

Her client laughed heartily, pulled her side to his, increasing her discomfort, although that fact did not show through- she was a professional. “You’d think he would’ve found a girl by now-”

“Not when they’re too serious!” An older woman in their party joined in on their mocking. 

Kat laughed along with them, pretending to enjoy the jokes, although her heart was not in it. “When they put so much time on work, they’re really useless at home.”

They talked for a little longer, the conversation drifting from Kaiba Seto to business, and then women. These men had no sense of decency, the amount of money they made had squarely knocked all sense of humility out of them. 

It wasn’t much longer into the evening before she and her client started making rounds. He wanted to cozy himself up to everyone in this room that was more powerful than he was- and that included the man he had been mocking earlier in the evening.

“Kaiba-sama,” he spoke respectfully when he knew he’d be heard- he was a two-faced man, which wasn’t uncommon for his line of work. “It’s nice to meet you, I work with Mr. Crawford as a supplier.” 

Kaiba only turned to acknowledge them, he exchanged no greetings, he was far above both of them, and it was clear that he was aware of that fact. “Do you need something?”

Quickly her client shook his head. “No, no, I just wanted to drop my business card off with you- if you ever need paper, we’ve got it all. Kaiba seemed disinterested, but accepted the card anyway. He’d likely throw it out after the night had ended with the way he handled it. “Anything else?” He asked, and after receiving a firm shake of the head, turned to Kat. “What about you?”

Her client answered for her, “No, this is just my woman, she’s just here to look pretty.”

Kaiba’s face twisted microscopically, a blink and you miss it reaction- Kat had not missed it, he was disgusted with her client much like she was, likely his wording and not subtle sexism. He looked at her for a moment, and with her client’s full focus on Kaiba, she tried to make it clear with her own facial expression that she wasn’t happy with the way her “date” had referred to her, although she couldn’t retaliate vocally.

“You should be careful how you speak about someone who is so much stronger than you are.” Kaiba responded, in kind, voice even and face stoic. He didn’t wait for a response before moving on to the next ass kissing suits waiting for their chance to get close to him.

Kat held back her laughter, which proved difficult. 

Her client wasn’t very happy.

He tried to carry on the evening, but his soured mood was becoming more and more noticeable to the other attendees. They left soon after, going their separate ways after he had dropped her off at her secondary location, a 24/7 dry cleaner, where she’d change out of her formal wear and head home. She didn’t just do this to make sure her dress got cleaned- she needed to be dressed down when she got home in the early hours of the morning, in the case that either of her roommates were up. 

This was her secret alone.


	2. whoops

The front door slowly creaked open, breaking the dead silence in the studio apartment Kat shared with her cousin and childhood friend. She paused for a moment, sure that the sound, however small, would wake someone, despite how in the past it rarely, if ever had. While neither of the men she lived with were particularly light sleepers, she knew that they weren’t always consistent in that regard, no one ever was. After a long enough wait, she continued forward, on the tips of her toes, floorboards creaking ever so slightly beneath her, bag slung around her shoulder as she crept into her own home at three in the morning. 

She’d already made the trek up their rickety steps and succeeded in making it up undetected. She hadn’t accounted for Doggo, who had been sleeping on her bed waiting for her return. He was always so excited to see her, this did not help her at these times. He was in the hall before she could close the door, and soon, barking and yelping with joy to announce her return to the entire block. A single part of her felt an insurmountable rage, but then that wasn’t her and she knew it. She shushed him with a single finger. “Go back to bed!” Her command was a whisper but not any less stern. Doggo, however, was not trained, and continued to yip and jump up on her. 

She resigned herself to the loss which she had dealt herself by not having the patience to train him. She dropped her bag and fell to the floor with him, letting her good boy lick at her face and greet her as he wanted- a common occurrence for them both at this point. Doggo likes ratting her out.

The lights flicked on, and she knew she had been caught. She didn’t know by which of her roommates, but hoped it would have been her cousin, Adam. He wouldn’t ask many questions, while he concerned himself with her well-being he trusted her well enough to take care of herself and know what she was doing. She wouldn’t be so lucky, not that she ever was with this guy.

“What were you doin’ all night?” He looked and sounded groggy, his question was not asked in accusation, but curiosity and concern. Jou leaned on a wall, looking down on his good friend as she suffered the consequences of her actions. 

“Ahhh,” she pushed Doggo’s tongue away from her face, letting him lick at the palms of her hands while she tried to explain herself to Jounouchi. “I was dealing with my men,” she responded with a complete lie, as she had done often. Jou did not need to know about the kind of business she was in. He knew about the gang shit, he knew about the “Yellow Dragon”, he did not need to know about the escorting. She knew he wouldn’t know how to handle it. He was an awkward guy, and he was too protective- although she loved that side of him. “Esteban was running around behind my back again- I had to set him straight.” 

Relying on old wounds to win his acceptance once more. She knew he’d believe anything she had left to say about her shitty ex- accept it as truth the moment she brought up his name, although maybe she had been blaming him for a little too much recently. She still kept him under her command and she didn’t need Jou urging her to replace him with someone else. She considered next time bringing up a different name, just so she could justify still trusting him.

Jounouchi shook his head, his short fuse already running out. “Just tell me if you want me to beat his ass.”

Kat laughed in response, already knowing that she’d never take him up on that, and he’d never actually deliver. He was already starting to lose his shape with all the lounging around he did- not that she cared all that much,he was still in a good condition, he was just a little chubbier. He was kinda cute this way, he had always been cute. “I can handle that rat myself, don’t you worry.” Even on her own, she could easily send Esteban to his grave, and Jou knew that.

He calmed down quick enough, knowing she had already handled the situation that he wasn’t aware did not exist. “Yea yea, get up.” He came to offer her a hand up off the floor, and she accepted, her palms still covered in slobber. Jou wiped his hand on his pants after she was up. “You eat yet?” The answer didn’t matter- even if she had, she’d still have an appetite and he knew it, but he was feeling snackish too. 

“My stomach is eating itself.” She grinned, then kicked her bag to the side.

“Yeah, you’re tellin’ me, even the dog looks like food right now.” Jou laughed alongside her, on their way into the kitchen. 

She punched him playfully in the arm, “You touch him, and I’ll eat you!” Jounouchi flinched back from the punch, still smiling. “Now make me food.” 

While she could cook, she’d prefer not to. Instead, she sat on the counter top and watched him go. Her role in this was to keep him company, and wash vegetables he used- not that there were ever many. They both preferred meat, Adam being the voice of reason in their household.

Jounouchi finished their meal eventually, and they both sat down by the windows. She wasn’t tired despite her night of events, and intended on staying up to see the sun. Who better to watch the dawn with than her sunshine? She wasn’t going to let him leave just yet. After finishing her meal she set the plate to the side, and flopped over onto Jou’s lap.

“Y’know this isn’t comfortable.” He remarked, although made no attempts to move her off, or shift his position.

She grinned in response, looking up at him contentedly. “We all make sacrifices.”


	3. new route unlocked

She was home early, the sun still in the sky, early evening on its way. She didn’t get enough of these- her five days a week office job took up enough of her time as it was, but the escorting and the men she led took up even more of that. The escorting, luckily, was not as common. She spent plenty of weekends at home, but not many weekdays.

Jou was locked up in his bedroom, she assumed still asleep. Adam wasn’t out yet either, but he was likely already awake. Busy with something else, no doubt. Her cousin wasn’t a very loud roommate, he was a large, burly man, but a gentle giant. He barely spoke the language here, still taking classes to pick it up, but he’d already found a boyfriend. He was a little amazing in that regard, but it wasn’t difficult for anyone to see he was a good and reliable man to bring into anyone’s life. 

She really didn’t have anything to do, bored as she was she did nothing to fix it. She had her little tumblr app open, she hadn’t posted there in sometime, but she still crept around in the shadows for the posts she couldn’t find anywhere else. It was a funny place, but the community was not for her so much. 

A lot of the people she had followed before abandoning her account were also in the duel world- all of the followers she had were from her recent buzz, she wasn’t big yet by any means, but she was getting there. Young adults liked her a lot, she could thank her stage presence for that. 

The community was still obsessed with Kaiba Seto, though- and her old posts had already betrayed her own bias in that field, even while she had tried to keep it on the down low. Luckily the man himself would never see- she was glad she’d gotten to meet him on her own before he did even so. She didn’t put it past anyone to tattle straight to the man himself. 

Now if someone were to point it out to him, he could say they met.. If he remembered her. She hoped he remembered. Even if she had been on the clock then, she had enjoyed their five seconds of eye contact. 

She still hadn’t told Jou about the meeting, and likely never would. She really had no idea how to explain it to him without outing her secondary occupation. Guilt was a thing, and it sat on the forefront of her mind, but she still could not tell him.

She huffed, tossed her phone back onto the floor and paid all her attention to petting Doggo who sat on her side.

Sometime later, she heard someone walking up the rusted stairs to their door, no doubt. Doggo’s ears perked up as he raised his head to watch the door. He didn’t know who was on their way and neither did she. She wasn’t expecting any guests. She quietly got up, slowly approached the front door. As she leaned forward to look through the peephole, a loud knock shook the door- three, actually. She jumped back for a moment, before leaning forward again. 

The man outside looked harmless, built like a house, but he had no weapons. She didn’t recognise him, however. He looked familiar, she had some strange feeling of knowing but not knowing. She did not feel threatened by him.

She opened the door slowly, peeking her head out before anything. “Hi.”

He froze for a moment, clearly confused. He definitely did not recognise her. “Uh.. hi.., I’m sorry, does Jounouchi live here?” 

She narrowed her gaze, processing for a moment before it hit her. Oh, yeah, this was Honda. She hadn’t thought about her best friend’s other best friend in some time. She nods before stepping back, allowing Honda to enter. Had he been around here before? Never while she was home. “I’ll get him, you wait here.”

She left pretty quickly, leaving security to Doggo, who was already hounding Honda for pets.

She knocked once on Jou’s bedroom door before barging in and pulling him out of bed. He didn’t seem all that phased, already completely awake- just enjoying the warmth of being in bed. “Whaaat? I’m sleepin’.” 

She shook her head. “Not anymore! Go talk to your friend.” She shoved him out the door, straight into the hallway, still only in his pyjamas.

She looked down the hall toward Honda, who had already stopped petting Doggo. She saw his face light up the moment Jou appeared. Something about that look made her feel uneasy. Did Honda have those kind of feelings for Jou? 

Honda waved. “Dude, put some clothes on, we gotta go!”

Jou paused, looked over toward Honda, and rolled his head backward. “Fuck! I forgot, sorry- give me a minute.” He turned around immediately, only to throw on the first items of clothing he saw. 

Kat let him be, he didn’t need her for this. She wanted to get back to the couch- maybe take a nap. That would not be. Honda stopped her. “So, uh- How do you know Jou?”

She knew that question would come sometime, either to her or the man in question- but it was fine. “We’re old friends.” Short, simple, room for questions, but none she had to answer. 

Honda nodded. “Cool. Well, I’m Honda Hiroto- I grew up with that guy, nice to meet you.” 

She nodded. “Cool.” 

It was a little awkward, but that was fine- at least he was nice to look at. Jou really only had handsome friends. Jou came back out pretty quickly anyway. 

“You guys didn’t kill each other, did you?” He joked, breaking the short lived silence. 

“What do you take me for, bro- I’m not gonna fight anyone.” Honda laughed it off, which urged her to join in. “Alright, we seriously gotta go, we’re late as fuck.”

“Oh shit.”


	4. advice episode

Before she could get back to her phone, almost immediately after Honda and Jounouchi had departed, Adam interrupted her with an invitation to come see his little boyfriend at work. She couldn’t deny that. She liked going to that little flower shop he worked at- and it had been a few months since the last time she’d been. 

Going to that shop also gave her a good chance of seeing the giant lizard that worked there too, so she was not going to turn that down. Adam’s boyfriend could keep some rights so long as he had that much to offer.

The car ride there was quiet for the most part, the only noise being from the street outside and the music from their radio. Adam did his best to sing along to the songs he knew, but he wasn’t doing too well. Kat only watched out the window. She knew the way and had become accustomed to the view, so the moment Adam turned onto the wrong street she laughed. “Did you forget where we’re going?” 

Adam didn’t seem at all bothered by this. “No, this is the right way.” 

She scrunched up her nose, knowing that the turn for that shop was the opposite direction. “Where do you think we’re headed right now?” She nudged his shoulder gently, careful not to use too much force, he was driving after all. 

Adam pointed directly ahead. “Look! There- I told you.” He was pointing at the hospital. 

“Hey, you said he was at work?” She felt a little nervous- already worried something had happened to that guy. She wasn’t close to him, but Phthonos had a son..- was it him or the kid?

She didn’t get to worry for too long before her cousin corrected that train of thought. “He finished school. He’s nursing now.”

She stared at Adam as they pulled into the parking lot, a little salty that he had her worrying for nothing, even if it was only for a moment. She didn’t know what went on in his head, but it was obvious they were related.

They walked into the ER, Adam with a bag tucked under his arm. He was so doting- Kat already knew he’d made lunch for that guy. Her mind drifted for a moment, as she sprawled herself over an empty bench in the waiting room. She used to think about bringing lunch to Kaiba in his office, just talking, maybe kissing. She cringed a little as she thought about it now- but the desire for something akin to that was still there.

Maybe a little more raunchy this time. Kaiba had really bulked up in the past few years, he was the kind of guy she’d let pin her down. 

She realized she was in public, when Adam came to sit down by her side. He was on his phone, texting as all the kids did- he wasn’t that good at it. Adam was the kind of guy to send only emojis in response to someone, but it seemed to be enough for Phthonos to understand what he meant.

They weren’t out there for five minutes before he peaked around the corner. He looked weird in scrubs- he was someone who wore no colour on his own, so all that purple unsettled her. 

He didn’t come all the way to them, though- Adam met him halfway, getting up to his feet before Kat could straighten herself up in her seat. He handed the bag he’d brought over, a wide smile on his face. “Eat well- I love you.” Adam spoke in short sentences, all pre-rehearsed to make sure he said it right. It was endearing enough to Phthonos, but that guy acted as though the only thing cuter than Adam was his own son- and Phthonos was almost 30cm shorter than he was. They took a moment to fawn over each other, but it didn’t last long. Phthonos gave Adam a quick kiss, waved to Kat, then turned and left in a hurry. 

All she knew about being a nurse came from television, so Kat assumed someone was going into afib and left it at that.

They regrouped outside, Kat taking a moment to tease Adam. His boyfriend was getting pretty successful, and all Adam did was duel. Her teasing never did much however. Even with his duel career Adam was successful, the swedish champion, as he was. Even if he lost it all, in the end, Phthonos would no doubt jump at the opportunity to provide for him. That guy was obsessed with Adam- but she couldn’t blame him, her cousin was a pretty cool guy. 

On the drive home, Kat found her thoughts back on Kaiba. She rarely changed. 

“Hey,” She started, “I met this guy at work.” She paused, waited for a response, and after getting none, continued. “I’ve admired him for years, but I didn’t know how to tell him.”

“Why not?” His eyes were still on the road, concerned as he was, safety came first.

She groaned, “I had to be professional.”

Adam’s laugh was booming and hearty. She knew that to him, it was a funny image. He’d seen too much of her inelegance. “You?”

“I also wanna work for him, I can’t look bad!” She slammed her open palm on the center console, as though that would do anything to deter her cousin’s laughter. 

It didn’t. Adam kept laughing, quietly now, and trying to keep it to himself. “Did you give him you card then?”

She thought back to the chance she had to do so, and the words her client had about it. “No…” 

“Problem solved.”

He wasn’t wrong, but even if he had it, there was no guarantee that he’d ever call her. “Only if I see him again.” She crossed her arms, not upset with Adam, but coming down from the higher energy.


	5. impromptu date night

She took Adam’s advice and tucked it away to the back of her mind, sure that an opportunity to act on it would never come to pass. She wound up very wrong, fate seemed to have her back with how the stars aligned. A younger man had contacted her, asked for her services at a fraction of her usual price. He was trying to save face with his coworkers, after bragging all year about some attractive foreign girlfriend. 

He wanted to invite her to the launch party of a game he had been working on, to come in as his plus one and “long time girlfriend”. Initially, she had intended on saying no- but upon asking more questions she came quick to the realisation that this guy worked for Kaiba Seto. 

She knew all of their ongoing projects, and while the guy was silent about where he worked, she knew by the details he was willing to provide for the moment. She considered that maybe she was too obsessed with that company, but her new concern would not change anything.

She had never been to an event like these- there weren’t camera’s outside hoping to get a good look of them, most of the attendees were middle classed (and only middle classed because Kaiba paid his employees well). They seemed, overall, like pleasant, human, people. Even the man who had hired her for the evening kept his hands to himself, he didn’t touch her without permission and behaved in a polite manner. 

Her client chatted amicably with coworkers, introducing her as his live-in partner with a strained face. Part of the act tonight was for her to get dumped in front of this crowd.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted Kaiba- dressed well and talking with his own employees. She had almost thought that this would be unimportant enough for him that he wouldn’t show- another bust of an attempt. She really had gotten very lucky.

While her fake boyfriend of the evening rambled on and on to his coworkers, trying his best to hint at issues in their relationship while talking up how much he thought of her, she kept a close eye on her own target. She had a job to do, and it was to look disinterested- she’d say she was doing it pretty well already.

They made eye contact- both freezing for a moment as Kaiba tried to recall from where he knew her. He headed over to their party without hesitation after apologising and excusing himself from a different group.

“Kaiba-sama!” Her client was the first to notice their boss approaching, he bowed his head, and many of his group followed suit. They all clearly had a deep respect for him, which wasn’t a surprise to her. She couldn’t recall one negative thing his own employees had said about him, publicly at least- she’d never had the opportunity to be this close with all these people she envied so much. 

They all took a moment to introduce themselves, although Kat zoned out for the most part, keeping her eyes stuck on Kaiba for this moment. She wasn’t starstruck, but she knew this was her chance to give him her business card. She had brought both, one for her escort business, and another for her work in this field. 

Eventually they got around to her, her client aware that she took a loss on this job just to meet Kaiba. “This is-”

Kaiba interrupted him mid-way through his sentence- rude as it was. “We’ve met before, thank you- what happened to that man then?” 

He directed a disproportionate amount of suspicion at her. It was plain to see already he assumed she was cheating on his employee- and considering the circumstances that was understandable. 

She shook her head, a smile pulled onto her face to keep her act up even while being questioned. She forced a laugh that sounded genuine, aware of the soon growing spiteful eyes of her conversational party for the evening. “You’re confused- that’s alright. He was just my boss.” She reached into the small bag she had brought with her, pulled out both cards and handed them over in a moment without thinking. “See?” 

Kaiba looked down for a moment to examine the cards, then again to his employee- in an instant aware that she had been paid to be here tonight, or he assumed at least. “So he was- that’s my mistake then. I apologise.” He attempted to hand the cards back, both of them. 

She took only one, and left the second with him. “Keep it.”

He nodded and pocketed the card. They made small talk for a short moment before Kaiba moved on. He seemed to be on a mission to speak with all of his employees. He was a good boss. She hoped he’d call her sometime, although she didn’t want to get her hopes up. 

They had both gotten what they wanted out of this evening, and when the time came, as the night came to an end and guests started leaving, he dumped her. Their act took place in front of a small crowd of people- she was the one to instigate the fight, asking why he couldn’t be this or that just to give him an excuse and ensure he wasn’t considered the bad guy to his coworkers.

She faked tears, tried to create a scene- that worked a little too well. The boss hadn’t left yet- and saw the commotion. Although she didn’t quite understand why, Kaiba stepped in and calmly told his employees to head home- her client included. He broke up the fight in a moment, without knowing it wasn’t meant to last all that much longer. 

It was only after his employees left that he offered to take her home, pick up some food for her on the way so she would feel better about being dumped. She accepted without thinking that she should correct him.

His car was nice, and this was a one time chance. Being alone with Kaiba was nerve wracking. She sat awkwardly in the passenger seat, trying her best to still look as elegant as she wanted him to believe that she was. She dried up her fake tears, wiped away the running eyeliner to make herself look clean.

Kaiba was quiet as he pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot, and she was shaking. The thought alone that he’d ever eat at a place like this was terrifying to her for some reason- but it made sense in the end. That guy had raised his sister on his own, he could call himself a parent at this point and no one would argue. The drive-thru was empty, as they pulled up he turned to her. “Do you want anything?” 

She hesitated for a moment- she had a regular order, but wasn’t sure she wanted to ask for it. She decided on her own that the benefits outweighed the potential cost. “Nuggets..”

Kaiba nodded and ordered for them both, he was very polite over the intercom.

After getting their food he pulled over into an empty parking space. That scared her, as it was unprompted and she hadn’t been warned that they’d be eating before leaving. Kaiba was acting like someone else, at least in her mind. She’d had so many ideas of who he was just based off of the way Jounouchi described him. She understood he was biased, but she’d hoped he would’ve painted a more accurate picture than that.

“After you finish, I need you to pull up the address for your home.” He spoke while unwrapping his own burger. She hadn’t gotten the name for his order, but it looked good. She had been eating all night but she was still hungry. Those nuggets would not last long against her, she usually ordered a lot more food.

They ate quietly until Kaiba got done, which somehow was before her.   
“I apologise for the behaviour of my employee tonight- that was irresponsible and inconsiderate of him to do in front of a crowd. 

She laughed, she couldn’t help herself from it. The thought of this guy apologising for himself was ridiculous to her, but for another man was even worse. “Don’t worry-” She spoke without thinking, her mouth full of nuggets. “It was part of the job.”

Kaiba’s brows furrowed at this, remembering the card he had been given earlier in the evening. “...He paid you to let him dump you like that?” 

She nodded, finished chewing and swallowed her food. “He’s been lying all this time about his girlfriend- he wanted to kill his lie before it caught up to him.” 

Kaiba shook his head. “Why are men like this?”

The comment took her off guard enough, while she was in the middle of drinking, that she laughed, hard. The coke came back up, and went right out her nose just to get all over his car and her fancy dress.

She froze, in a moment of panic and pain. “I’m so sorry, I’ll clean it up.” 

She took a few napkins and started wiping down the dashboard, he did the same. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” When she turned to him, he didn’t look upset, but mildly entertained- and suddenly she felt like she didn’t know this man as well as she thought she had. 

She felt more comfortable now, and started hoping he wouldn’t put the car in drive. She was grasping at straws now to hopelessly keep their conversation going for as long as she could. Kaiba seemed relaxed with her, and she would have been shaking if he wasn’t so calm. She had so many hopes for this evening and already she had surpassed far beyond all of them before getting into this car- she wasn’t sure if anyone would believe her if she tried to tell them.

She was still nervous, which was natural.

She found herself bringing up her best friend, who she knew was waiting for her at home and in the same breath, his best friend- mistakenly using their names to refer to them. “You know.. Um- these two guys, Jounouchi and Honda?” Her question was one Kaiba was never meant to answer- she had intended on following up with something else, but he beat her to it. She had forgotten that he did indeed know both men- he had known Honda much longer than she had, she only really had a week on his years. 

He was too comfortable maybe.

“I know them- I used to have a crush on both of them, I know them.” Kaiba didn’t even seem to realise what he had just said to her, staring off ahead of him and mindlessly sipping at his watered down fountain drink.

Kat didn’t know what to say, but cut the story she intended on telling short when the fact that Kaiba could have been gay sunk into the forefront of her mind.

That sucked. This sucked. She still really looked up to him, of course, but she was also still very attracted to him. It was fine that he liked men, but she would always be insanely jealous of Jounouchi, from that day onward. Unless, of course, Kaiba also liked girls, which was still possible and ideal for her. 

She thought maybe a change of topic would be good, to get her mind away from the ditch it had fallen into. “What are you staring at anyway?”

“Oh, nothing,” He put his drink down, then turned to her. “What are we doing?”

She felt awkward all over again- like she’d made a fool out of herself for being so desperately into him all this time, even while he hadn’t noticed. She still wanted to talk to him and know him, but she was getting low on food anyway. 

She wiped her fingers off in a napkin she had already turned into a ball with all her barbeque sauce. She should write down her address now, shouldn’t she? “You’re taking me home.” She smiled at him even still.


	6. red handed

She was having trouble now- Kaiba was trying to walk her to her door, as kind of him as that was, she knew that if they weren’t careful Kaiba and Jounouchi would come face to face. She’d have to explain that to the both of them. She still hadn’t found a good time to tell Kaiba that she was good friends with Jounouchi- and that was entirely due to the confession he had given earlier. It didn’t seem right now. 

She didn’t know how to tell him that he couldn’t come up without arousing suspicion, and she was scared he’d want a reason. So she stuck with the “You don’t have to do all that for me, it’s not that far” and that didn’t change his mind at all. She was sure that he didn’t doubt she was able to defend herself, so his reason for insisting was lost on her. 

He took his keys out of the ignition anyway, shook his head. “It would be rude of me.” She knew she couldn’t reject him for long, so she nodded. 

“Okay, but we have to keep quiet..,” she had already finished collecting the trash from their meals. “My roommates might be asleep.”

He nodded, shut his door, and followed her up the same rusty stairs she’d been sneaking up for years. He walked carefully, and she took notice of how he’d gently place one foot on a step to test it’s strength before allocating the rest of his weight onto it. Kat found it cute- Kaiba must have gotten so used to his fancy lifestyle if he was scared when floors had a little give to them. If he ever did use that phone number she gave him, she made a note to remember to tease him about it.

The inside of her home was quiet, she noted, as they approached the door. No barking. That meant one of two things- either Doggo was asleep or he was waiting to attack. She had high hopes. Maybe for once she wouldn’t be ratted out by her own dog.

She opened the front door and then the barking started. Doggo jumped up on Kaiba, excited to smell his new friend. Kat had to pull him inside to keep him from being knocked over the railing. She shut the door quickly behind him so her beast couldn’t escape. 

Doggo was still making a ruckus as she dropped down onto her knees to try and pull him off of Kaiba. Kaiba didn’t seem upset by the attack, however- he was without complaint, petting and shushing Doggo. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, and soon enough the room was quiet again. No Jounouchi and no Adam either.

She stared between her dog and her guest. “I’m so sorry.” She didn’t try to pull Doggo away from him, afraid that he’d start barking again. 

Kaiba shook his head as he gently stroked one of two soft ears. “Oh, it’s fine. My dog at home was a lot worse when I got him- and a lot bigger.” Kat tilted her head, unaware that Kaiba even had a dog, let alone one somehow bigger than her golden retriever. 

There was so much about this guy, that she’d looked up to for so long, that she somehow still didn’t know. “You have a dog? ….. A bigger dog?”

Kaiba nodded quickly, “Mausbär, he’s a mountain dog.”

She didn’t know what that meant, but believed him immediately. She wanted to see him.

A noise came from down the hall, and Kat froze up, remembering the situation they were in. “Oh shi- Thank you for your help, but please leave.”

Kaiba had heard the noise too, and nodded in compliance. “Next time, then.” He stood and Doggo walked away, but before he could turn to open the front door, Jounouchi was in the hall, staring directly at him. 

The moment dragged on. Kaiba and Jounouchi locked onto one another, neither even spared a glance toward her.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this kind of terror. She realised very quickly she was in trouble, and the moment Honda peeked out of Jou’s room, she knew she would be in even more trouble.

Honda wasn’t saying anything either.

She hated this.

“Uh… hi?” She waved awkwardly to her roommate and his guest.

Jounouchi finally took a second to look at her. “Kat, what the fuck?” Kaiba opened his mouth, as if to speak, but quickly closed it again- leaving her to defend herself. She deserved this.

“He was leaving! It’s fine!” She raised her volume, voice cracking as she did.

Jounouchi sputtered. “That's not the problem! Where the fuck did you even find this guy?” He wasn’t aggressive, but seemed genuinely confused.

She threw her head back. “I’ll explain later, why is Honda here?”

The room fell silent for a moment. Kaiba took this as his chance to leave, turning to Kat for a moment just to wave and share eye contact before heading out.

Honda idled in place, looked between the two and finally said, “Y’know what I think he had the right idea- see you guys later.” He gave a short wave before making his way out as well.

Jounouchi was the one to break the silence between them. “Did you fuck him?” 

Kat came close to collapsing at the whiplash she experienced from that question. “No! Did you fuck Honda?”

Jounouchi stopped for a moment, knowing Kat had a little more ground to stand on- she knew for a fact he wasn’t against fucking his friends. “No… but I would, I know you would too.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yea, no shit.”


	7. unexpected, but welcome revelations

Jounouchi didn’t ask her any further questions after that- he left her to her own, let her get some sleep. He didn’t feel angry to her, but it had always been hard for him to stay mad. Kat knew already that while Jou wasn’t asking questions now, he would be soon. She woke up in the afternoon to an empty house and almost didn’t find the will to pull herself out of bed. Doggo needed to be let out, and that was her only driving force. She could sleep all day, but she wouldn’t let her good boy suffer for her own comfort. She also didn’t want to step in dog piss. 

She took Doggo out on a leash, walked him down the street. He was the kind of dog to try and stray from the path with little to no regard for his own safety or surroundings. It was only with her diligence that he hadn’t walked himself into traffic. She really did love this dog, though. 

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket as Doggo sniffed up the cracks in the cement walkway. She considered for a moment, whether or not she should take her eyes off of Doggo to answer it- but soon enough decided against it. Whoever it was could wait until she got home for her answer. It probably wasn’t something important anyway. 

She had been a little wrong about that. 

The matter wasn’t pressing, but as she tacked up Doggo’s leash and kicked off her worn shoes, she got a glimpse of the notification on her lockscreen.

“How long have you known jounouchi?”

She felt her heart plunge. She knew who that was, even as the number registered as an unknown. He had her contact information. She trudged over to her couch and slumped over. He was probably also mad at her- she had kept it from him, knowing what she knew. Although she hadn’t had much of a chance to tell him about her relationship with their mutual friends. 

“were childhood friends” She responded after a minute more. 

The response was immediate. He must have been waiting.

“Honda too?”

She didn’t want to keep him waiting again and responded quickly back with a “no”. 

“sorry for not telling you befpre i didnt want to startle you”

Kaiba went quiet for a moment, and she waited for him. She wasn’t sure if he was just busy or if he didn’t know what to say now- she hoped he was just busy.

“Did you tell them about our conversation ?” 

She knew it. Of course he’d be nervous about that kind of information being in her hands. With the kind of relationship she knew stood between Jounouchi and Kaiba, he’d be facing ridicule at the least if Jou were to find out.

“i didnt tell them anything and ill keep it that way”  
“if it makes you feel better id fuck them both too x))”

She felt regret seep into her bones almost immediately. That was probably a little bit too much for this guy. Kaiba seemed to be getting good at diverting from her expectations.

“Ah so we both like more that one person”  
“Its a little sad”

She laughed a little at the thought of her ever liking Jounouchi like that- the concept was so foreign to her. The thought of dating him was so strange to her, but she could feel her heart swell as she thought about it. 

“we could all date eachother at this rate xp” She responded with a well meaning joke and held no expectations that Kaiba would ever be interested in the thought.

Kaiba’s end was silent again. She didn’t like the way he’d fade in and out of activity, but linked it to liking being the result of his occupation. Unless he wasn’t at work, in which case she had no clue. 

“(；⌣̀_⌣́)”  
“That wouldnt be awful”

She stared down at her phone. “yea, it wouldnt” she shot back. “youre definitely my type”

She was shooting her shot.

“Youre easily mine too”  
“And i wouldnt put it pasyt jounouchi either”

She laughed a little, feeling heat in her cheeks at the thought alone.

“so the onlyperson we need to get on board is honda x)” she knew it would be more difficult than that- or so she assumed. Jounouchi didn’t like her as Kaiba had suggested. Not as far as she was aware.

“Oh im not concerned about honda”

“Why :o”

He didn’t get around to responding to her, at all. She waited for ten minutes before giving up. Jounouchi had come home for his lunch break in that time. She lolled her head back in boredom before catching his eye. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He shot back as he ate.

“How do you feel about dating Kaiba, and Honda, and me.” She asked him in a serious tone, while readying herself to turn it into a joke at the slightest hint of rejection.

Jou looked like he had burst a blood vessel as he stumbled over words- his face was beet red, and his sandwich had crumbled under his vice grip. She laughed to herself before getting up off the couch. She was so used to physical contact with him that sitting in his lap, by this point- was completely normal. “What did you say?”

He looked down, eyes not meeting hers. “Are ya joking?”

She laughed a little. “I was just talking about it with Kaiba.” She smiled, kissed the side of his head. 

Jounouchi was silent for a little bit longer. “I-... y’know I’ve had a crush on you.. for… like… forever…” 

The silence dragged on for a little too long, she felt her own cheeks heating up- immediately losing grasp of the situation. She really didn’t know how to deal with this revelation.

“Does that mean you’re in?”

He nodded.


	8. breakups

They had been sitting in awkward silence now for hours. Jounouchi had just returned from work for the day, and while Kat wanted to talk more about Kaiba’s proposal with him, she didn’t know how to start the conversation. Especially not with Adam and his guests in the other room- he hadn’t given either of them warning before bringing in his boyfriend and his son, not that he’d ever really needed to in the past. 

They had spent an hour or two in the dining room alone, likely helping Madoka with school work, but with the three of them within earshot, Kat decided to keep quiet, watch some cartoons while she waited for a chance.

Eventually those three retreated to Adam’s own bedroom. Madoka had fought to get to stay and watch with Jounouchi and Kat, but his father hadn’t budged. Phthonos, as kind as he was, didn’t trust his son with her, and she couldn’t blame him. She may have had control of the demon lurking inside of her, but he was still a threat. 

With them gone, Kat snuck a glance toward Jounouchi, who she caught side-eyeing her. They looked away when their eyes met. Things had been awkward where they left off- Jounouchi had only been home for a short period, less than twenty minutes, and only to grab a quick meal. She really felt nervous. 

She had been left on her own to think about dating her best friend- a best friend she quickly realised she liked. “So uh..” Jounouchi started, breaking the silence between them, which had only felt heavier with the television running behind it. “You talk to Kaiba again?” 

She shook her head, while she had let him know through text what had happened with the two of them- Kaiba hadn’t responded to her. He must have been busy. “You talk to Honda?”

It was Jounouchi’s turn to shake his head. “Nah.. dude doesn’t like talking to me through text.”

She popped each of her fingers subconsciously, without realising it this helped her relieve stress. They sat for another moment, soaking in the knowledge that such a simple suggestion from Kaiba had made them both reconsider their entire relationship with one another. It wasn’t just Kaiba’s doing- really they’d both had these feelings for years, it was only now that they’d both decided to seriously consider them. 

They both jumped at knocking on their front door. Three quick and very loud thumps. 

“I got it..” Jou was up first, answering the door while Kat followed behind.

It was Honda. He looked messy- she’d never seen him so disheveled. She couldn’t imagine running upstairs alone would do that to him- he was a big guy.. He could hold her down with ease, and not just anyone could do that. 

“Bro..” Honda pushed the door open more, let himself in when Jounouchi moved with it. “I just got done talkin’ to Kaiba.. And why is he asking me out for both of you and himself?”

Jounouchi sputtered, quickly turning around to face Kat. “You were fuckin’ serious?”

She scrunched her face together at the question. “I told you already.”

Both of the other men were completely focused on her now- Honda shut the door behind himself, already at home in their apartment, he gestured for the both of them to move this to the living room. 

Jounouchi turned on Honda quickly, however. “..How did Kaiba get a hold of you anyway? Why am I the only one he didn’t talk to about this?”

Honda laughed nervously, “I mean.. Maybe he just likes me more?” 

“Don’t fuck with me. If he wants to date me, he’s gotta like me first!” Kat felt bad for laughing- but she knew for a fact that Kaiba at least liked Jounouchi. “Now, what I’m thinkin’ is he just didn’t have my phone number- but how the fuck did he get yours?” Jounouchi, by all means, did not seem angry about it- more so like he was genuinely curious about the matter.

Honda scratched at the back of his neck nervously. “Well… I mean.., we’ve kinda been texting back and forth for a little bit. Just like.. Here and there.”

Kat giggled, realising now what Kaiba meant when he had told her Honda wouldn’t need any convincing. “So you were trying to fuck him too.” 

Jounouchi’s jaw dropped at that, clearly enraged for having been left out. “This is bullshit! Gimme your phone!” 

Honda didn’t have much time to react and defend himself with the laughter he could not control- Jou had his phone and soon Kaiba’s phone number. 

After dialling it rang twice before the line was picked up. Jou had the call on speaker. 

“Who is this?” Kaiba’s tone was flat, tone bordering on disinterested.

Jou fumed- although it was clear to anyone who knew him that he was playing it up, he wasn’t that bothered. How could he be when he was grinning so wide. “Kaiba! You mother fucker! How the fuck are you gonna flirt with everyone but me!”

Honda and Kat had both been expecting anything but that phrasing, and burst even further into laughter. Honda had leaned so far forward at this point that his face was completely hidden in his own lap, Kat had buried her face in her hands. 

Jounouchi took this as an excuse to continue. “How’re you supposed to date all three of us but only talk to two about it!” His grumbling was fake, and it seemed even Kaiba was aware of that.

“I’ve reconsidered my stance on this situation.” Kaiba responded bluntly, before hanging up on them.

Jounouchi exploded with laughter. “Can’t believe I got dumped before the first date, guys.”

They all knew that Kaiba wasn’t serious, but it was made clear when Kaiba texted Kat to let her know he was on his way.


	9. no explanation necessary

True to his word, Kaiba did show up. Honda was the one to let him in- quick to his feet before Kaiba ever knocked. Doggo had alerted them to his arrival- barking when he had heard the first stair creak- scratching at the door at the last. 

It had been less than an hour since the call where he had “changed his mind” about their arrangement, everyone was still present- Adam still in his bedroom with his happy family and the three of them, Jou, Honda, and Kat, sitting around in their communal space making jokes at Jounouchi’s expense. 

Kaiba didn’t wait for a formal invitation to enter- letting themselves in was something both Kaiba and Honda had in common. 

Jounouchi jumped up to his feet, his eyes meeting Kaiba’s as he did. “Oh- so you’ve come crawling back- huh? Well I guess I’ll listen to your apology.” He spoke in a mock tone of understanding, still clearly amused with the idea of Kaiba dumping him.

Kaiba snorted in a way that was completely familiar to his now three potential significant others. “You know me so well,” he started in reply, he sounded cold but this was not something out of character for him, and with the way the left corner of his lips skewed ever-so-slightly upward, they knew he wasn’t truly as unamused as he’d let others believe. “Yet somehow you’ve managed to find the one thing I was not planning on doing, Jounouchi.”

“I told you,” Kat laughed, her sides already hurting from the past hour of joking around. “We all have to dump you now.” 

Jounouchi gaped, but composed himself quickly after a firm pat on the back from the only person he could trust to be on his side- Honda. Jou was very fortunate to have his best friend so thoroughly whipped for him. “Yea well, I’ll take this guy with me if you do.” He shot back without prior thought. 

He had a habit of speaking before he could think his words through.

Honda shook his head, shaking off the amusement for a moment to get serious. “To be real, for a second- if we’re seriously considering this whole 4-way business, we gotta talk boundaries- make sure nobody ends up hurting for no reason.”

Kat could already feel the sweat on her hands. She hadn’t thought that far into any of this- had considered that a relationship between these three and herself wouldn’t need much explaining, but she was also just bad with feelings.. and also relationships in general. The last guy she dated seriously was still trying to fuck her over.

Jounouchi looked just as taken off-guard, eyes shot wide and focused on Honda. Dialogue hadn’t been considered by him either.

Kaiba, however, looked prepared for this. “You’re right- thank you for bringing that up.” He responded cooly, before taking a seat on the futon.

The conversation about this was carried mostly between Honda and Kaiba- Jounouchi and Kat only adding in when their now serious boyfriends made a point or asked for a courtesy they also wanted. Most of these requests seemed like basic dating etiquette to Kat, but in the end it was best that they talked about it anyway.

Kaiba paused mid-sentence in their conversation, eyes caught on something behind the couch. Kat turned her head to see Adam and his guests finally emerging from his bedroom. She waved, and Madoka came running up- but not to her. He threw his tiny arms around Kaiba, hugging him at his knees, Kaiba leaned forward to hold him in return. The little boy returned to his father's side soon after.

Phthonos picked his son up, and whispered to him, “Cover your eyes.” Which Madoka complied with. After his eyes were covered, Phthonos held up only his middle finger before leaving the apartment entirely.

Kaiba did not offer an explanation for the exchange, simply picked back up where he had left off and left it at that.


	10. obligatory fluff episode

Kaiba’s couch was not big enough for four people, however, Kathleen was very happy to leave it to her boyfriends, the floor with the dog bigger than she was both tall and wide, seemed much more appealing. She loved her men, she loved the dogs they came with maybe just a little bit more.

None of them seemed bothered by this, content to not have to fight over the three seater for their movie date.

Mouse, as she had taken to calling him, lapped at her hands, her face pressed into his fur to avoid looking at the screen. She always hated when the main characters in any movie made a decision she knew would backfire- and it seemed to happen in every movie, it was bad for her heart. She wasn’t immune to second hand embarrassment, in fact, it seemed to be one of the few things she couldn’t handle, and it seemed that Honda wasn’t either- as he fully slipped off the couch and sunk onto the floor. He joined her in hiding his face in Mouse’s fur. There was plenty of space to share, so she didn’t complain, and the gentle giant of a dog was happy to accept the added affection.

Kaiba really had named him right, his size was close to that of a bear, but the way he behaved betrayed that, as he seemed to think he was much smaller.

After the scene had passed, they re-settled, laying side by side with one another. Jounouchi quickly caught on to the situation, decided on his own that he’d rather join them on the floor and enjoy the great potential for cuddling rather than share the now spacious couch with a Kaiba, three entire feet apart. He draped himself over Honda’s left shoulder, Kat taking up the opposite arm in kind.

They were comfortable like this. 

Kaiba didn’t join them, having too much respect for his lower lumbar, but he did lean forward, smile to himself at the sight. Kat met his eyes, returned with a smile just for him. He leaned forward, rolling slightly onto his side only to meet her for a brief kiss. 

She felt giddy, almost like a child. Before this point, she hadn’t considered how lucky she was. 

“Hey,” She heard Honda call out, “over here too, big guy.” She turned in time to see him purse his lips and kiss at the air. 

“Yea, me too.” Jou chimed in- although he didn’t mimic the action.

She watched as Kaiba rolled his eyes, and contorted his body even more only to comply with their requests. She felt lucky. Her standards had been so low before, she couldn’t imagine anything better than this.


End file.
